Things Gingerbread 2.3 did better than Froyo 2.2 to become most loved Android flavor

On-screen keyboard always had that 'touch' of novelty that appealed to us. Now, Gingerbread has rather notched it up a level by integrating an improved version of the Froyo keyboard. This feature now includes both landscape and portrait mode, with enhanced attributes like with faster input and more intuitive typing. And in relation to this, the OS also has a new copy paste functionality.

Subtle is the key word here. Rather than changing the whole UI, Gingerbread had certain refinements over the older version, all with a dash of familiarity (so as not to confuse the users). As for these improvements, they were mainly related to newer color schemes with a more polished visual element and simpler user mechanism. And, we shouldn't forget the new app screen along with the revamped Quick Settings in notifications.

One of the simplest yet great features of the Gingerbread is its power and application management attribute. This basically allows you to keep an eye on what is going on in the background, with adequate info about the memory and CPU time that particular app is using. The feature also allows us to get rid of the more troublesome apps.

Initially, Google touted Froyo to be much speedier than its predecessor Eclair. Well, in reality, the OS still lagged during certain periods of time. But the Gingerbread was the game changer here, with its fluent behavior and good response time with the myriad of animations. So, if not for its tremendously blistering speed, users still sighed a breath of relief with what was expected from Google all along.

In one of the better features, Gingerbread integrates Voice over IP (VoIP) along with SIP audio and video calling. On if you have a good internet connection and a SIP account, internet calling can be much improved. Though, most of the carriers do not give SIP accounts, the overall attribute may appeal to the more global travellers.

The smaller user friendly attributes include a new download manager, which allows you to regulate your downloaded files from one place. More software related features include newer multimedia oriented APIs for accessing multiple camera systems and having larger viewing screens.

We have been harping about user oriented features, but since we have mentioned apps and software, there are some attributes of Gingerbread that cater to 'behind the scenes' development. Some of them are related to the newer release of Native Development Kit (NDK), which allows developers to manipulate sound and 3D graphics contexts and also access assets and storage features.

Basically, NFC allows a plethora of wireless transactions and data exchange between two phones at a close proximity (within a range of few centimeters). The procedure is widely used in countries like Japan for even credit card transactions. And now, with this feature being included in Gingerbread, the convenience of NFC will hopefully spread to the rest of the world.

More of a fix rather than an improvement, the faster event distribution, as the name suggests, allows for speedier processing of programs, even when the user holds directly on to his/her screen. In earlier Froyo dictated times, direct contact with the screen (with fingers) sometimes resulted in the slowing down of the apps, but Gingerbread has certainly corrected this 'fault'.

Another feature that is directly related to development (especially for Java based programs), the Gingerbread offers a speedier facet to garbage collection, by reducing its speed to a mere 3ms.